The Fighting Irish are off to their best start in 10 years, with the type of marquee victory that's eluded them for almost as long.

Golson threw a touchdown pass and ran for a score in the first half to help the 20th-ranked Fighting Irish dominate the 10th-ranked Spartans 20-3 Saturday night.

The Fighting Irish (3-0) snapped a six-game losing streak against ranked teams and beat a top-10 opponent for the first time in seven years.

"It's a signature win," third-year Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said.

And Te'o was the signature player.

The senior linebacker had 12 tackles, one for a loss, and broke up two passes, playing just a few days after the deaths of his girlfriend, who had a long battle with leukemia, and his grandmother.

"It was hard," Te'o said of his week. "But I had my family around me. At the end of the day, families are forever."

The last time a top-10 team scored fewer than Michigan State did at home against the Irish was in 1966 when they shut out USC 51-0. Notre Dame had its best showing on defense anywhere against a top-10 opponent since beating Texas A&M 28-3 in 1993.